6 years of software updates will be provided by the GALAXY A36 and GALAXY A26, which are affordable

Galaxy A36, Galaxy A26, and Nothing’s Phone at MWC: Best Face and Other Awesome Intelligence From a Budget-Friendly Galaxy

It’s budget season, and it’sSamsung’s turn to show off its upcoming range of affordable phones. Kicking off a wave of upcoming mobile news at Mobile World Congress (MWC), the annual tech tradeshow held in Barcelona, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A26 5G—sequels to last year’s Galaxy A35 and A25.

The cheapest of the two is the A36 which costs $400, while the highest one is the A26 which costs $300. The announcement is bookended by the launch of Apple’s “cheap” iPhone—the iPhone 16e—which isn’t all that cheap at $599, and Nothing’s Phone (3a) series, the successor to the company’s well-received Phone (2a), set to debut on March 4.

The highlight of the A-series is the fact that these devices will be receiving 6 years of security and OS updates, which is triple the amount of security updates available in the previous year. That makes them some of the only smartphones in this price bracket to offer such extensive software support—you’ll continue getting new Android features and your phone will be more secure.

Samsung is also touting the small design refresh—there’s now a distinct camera module housing the linear lens layout, plus the phones are slimmer and lighter with a glossy finish on the back. The Gorilla Glass is used on all three devices for better scratch and shatter resistance, first used on the flagship S22 series from the year 2022, when it was released. They can be submerged for up to 30 minutes in up to 1 meter of water, so they still work.

Samsung is bringing even more AI to its line of budget-friendly phones. The new Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 now come with what the company calls “awesome intelligence,” enabling an array of new AI-powered image editing features already available with Samsung’s pricier S25 lineup.

One of these features is Best Face, an AI tool that lets you swap the facial expressions of up to five people in a motion photo in case someone blinks or looks away from the camera. It’s similar to Google Pixel’s Best Take and launched with the Galaxy S25 in January.

New Design Features for the Galaxy A35, A55, and A55s: The Same Screen and Few More Measuring Features as The Other Smartphones

Besides new AI features, Samsung made some small design tweaks to each phone, as well. The A55 and A35, as well as the A25, all have the same 6.7-inch full HD Plus display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, as compared to the smaller 6.1-inch screen on the A55 and A25. The A56 has the same 12MP ultrawide sensor, 50MP main camera, and 5MP macro camera. It has a 12MP selfie shooter that is lower than the A55s front-facing sensor.